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History

The milestones in Emirates’ incredible journey

On 25 October 1985, Emirates flew its first routes out of Dubai with just two aircraft—a leased Boeing 737 and an Airbus 300 B4.

Then, as now, our goal was quality, not quantity. And in the years since taking those first small steps onto the regional travel scene, we've evolved into a globally influential travel and tourism leader known the world over for our commitment to quality.

With a fleet of more than 265 aircraft, we currently fly to over 155 destinations in more than 80 countries around the world. Over 1,500 Emirates flights depart Dubai each week on their way to destinations on six continents, and our network is expanding constantly. You can read on to find out more.

2015

Jennifer Aniston wakes up to comfort and luxury on Emirates with new advertising campaign.

Emirates sweeps the 2015 APEX Passenger Choice Awards with seven wins, receives four titles at the Business Traveller Awards and is proud to receive the 11th consecutive Skytrax Award for In-flight Entertainment.

The Emirates A380 and Jetman Dubai take to the skies for a formation flight.

Emirates’ social media customer service begins to provide 24-hour support in English and Arabic.

Emirates signs a historic US$9.2 billion order with Rolls-Royce for 200 A380 engines.

Emirates sees brand value grow for 4th consecutive year to US$6.6 billion. The airline also retains its top position as the most valuable airline brand in the world.

The Emirates App for the Apple Watch is launched.

Emirates celebrates a milestone in its employee history, with its cabin crew team now crossing 20,000 staff.

2014

Emirates brings its A380 to India with a first-ever display at the Hyderabad Air Show.

Emirates launches flights to Boston, its 8th gateway in the USA.

Emirates is named the world’s “Most Valuable Airline Brand”.

Emirates expands its social media footprint with the launch of its official Twitter channel.

Football legends Pelé and Cristiano Ronaldo star in Emirates’ global campaign to connect sports fans around the world, as global ambassadors for the airline.

Emirates becomes the first airline to offer a scheduled A380 service at London Gatwick.

2013

Double daily A380 services to Paris Charles de Gaulle and New York JFK are introduced.

Concourse A opens at Dubai International – the world’s first dedicated A380 facility and home of the Emirates A380.

London Heathrow becomes an all A380 route, following the launch of the fifth daily A380 service.

2006

Emirates seals $195 million partnership deal with Fifa – the world governing body of football –and also buys the rights to screen every match played at the Germany World Cup on flights.

Arsenal play their first match at the new Emirates Stadium.

Sheikh Ahmed says Emirates is at the heart of Dubai’s Dhs300 billion investment in aviation and aerospace.

Emirates SkyCargo signs $2.8 billion order for 10 Boeing 747-8Fs.

2005

Emirates Group workforce totals 25,000 people from 124 countries around the world, making it Dubai’s biggest employer.

Passenger traffic continues to rise with 12.5 million recorded in the year.

Emirates orders 42 Boeing 777s in a deal worth $9.7 billion, the largest Boeing 777 order in history.

2004

Emirates orders four Boeing 777-300ERs, with nine options, in a $2.96 billion deal.

The SkyCargo fleet is increased with three Airbus A310-300s added to its six Boeing 747s.

Emirates makes its first flight to North America – a non-stop 14-hour flight to New York’s JFK Airport. This marked the first non-stop passenger service from the Middle East to North America, a continent which Mr Flanagan described, in aviation terms, as the most important in the world.

Emirates signs a £100 million deal with English Premiership side Arsenal, which includes naming rights to its new stadium for 15 years and shirt sponsorship for eight years, starting from the 2006/07 season.

dnata opens its first regional travel outlet in Kuwait.

2003

CAE and Emirates join forces to open the $100 million Emirates Aviation Training Centre which boasts numerous full-flight simulators.

Emirates shocks the industry at the Paris Air Show with the biggest deal in civil aviation history - a staggering order for 71 aircraft at a cost of $19 billion.

Daily service from Dubai to Sydney starts on the first A340-500 to join the fleet.

The A340-500 features revolutionary ice in-flight entertainment system – including 500 channels in all classes, while every seat is equipped with a phone.

After carrying 8.5 million passengers, an increase of 26%, the airline posts an incredible profits increase of 94 per cent to Dhs907 million from Dhs468 million.

dnata is given a new corporate logo – a globe cushioned by a stylised runway represented by a curving green strip.

2002

Four million passengers vote in the Skytrax internet poll and Emirates is again named Airline of the Year.

Global passenger levels drop by four per cent but Emirates figures rise 18.3 per cent to 6.8 million.

Cargo across the world plunges nine per cent but Emirates enjoys an increase of 19.5 per cent to 400,000 tonnes.

Group announces $275 million investment in new hangar complex at the Emirates Engineering Centre.

2001

Emirates SkyCargo Centre – with a capacity to handle 400,000 tonnes a year – opens.

Emirates signs £24 million deal to sponsor English Premiership football club Chelsea for four years.

In a survey of 2.7 million airline passengers by Skytrax Research, Emirates was voted Airline of the Year.

Emirates takes delivery of its 18th Airbus A330-200 and orders two more, making it the biggest A330 operator in the world.

With rivals reeling from September 11 and Boeing and Airbus in a weak bargaining position, Emirates stuns the world by announcing a $15 billion order for 15 A380s, eight A340-600s, three A330s and 25 Boeing 777s.

2000

The Sheikh Rashid Terminal opens, increasing the capacity at Dubai International to 22 million passengers a year.

Frequent flyer loyalty programme Emirates Skywards is launched.

Sheikh Ahmed announces Dubai Government is to invest $500-600m in the new Terminal 3 - with a capacity for 20 million passengers a year.

Emirates becomes the first airline to sign up for the Airbus A380 when it orders seven, with an option on five more, at the Farnborough Air Show.

1999

dnata enters the South East Asian airport services market with the launch of dnata Philippines Inc.

The airline capitalises on the UAE’s growing ties with Australia and a deal is struck to add Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to the Melbourne route.

Emirates sponsors the Melbourne Cup, the biggest meeting in Australia’s horse racing calendar, and the nation’s cricket team at the World Cup.

The livery of the Emirates fleet is updated with a modern, dynamic design.

Passenger arrivals at Dubai International hit the 11 million mark.

1998

Emirates increases its capacity by 26 per cent as passenger figures hit 3.7 million, while cargo levels go up to 200,000 tonnes.

Group takes a 43 per cent stake in Air Lanka, which is renamed SriLankan.

Emirates is voted Best Airline in the World at prestigious OAG Awards.

The $540 million Terminal 2 is opened at Dubai International.

1997

Emirates makes a $2 billion order for 16 Airbus A330-200s.

Airline defies high fuel prices to again post record profits as passenger figures top three million and the cargo haul hits 150,000 tonnes.

Emirates takes delivery of six Boeing 777-200s, giving it new long-haul capabilities.

1996

Airline takes delivery of its first Boeing 777-200 and becomes the first airline to show live footage of take-off and landing. Its maiden flight to London is followed by Emirates’ inaugural flight to Melbourne.

Emirates becomes title sponsor of the world’s richest horse racing event - the Dubai World Cup.

1995

As the airline celebrates its 10th birthday, it has a fleet flying to 34 locations in the Middle East, Far East and Europe.

Emirates enters the African market, with flights into Johannesburg, Nairobi and Kenya.

Sheikh Ahmed’s aim for more Emiratis to forge careers with Emirates starts to take shape as the first pilots graduate from Emirates’ training programme.

Emirates Flight Training Centre opens.

1994

Emirates is the first airline to equip an Airbus fleet with an on-flight fax facility.

1993

Emirates becomes the first airline to introduce telecommunications on an Airbus – in all three classes.

1992

Emirates becomes the first airline to install video systems in all seats in all classes throughout its fleet.

Emirates convinces the French government to allow it to fly into Paris.

$2 million terminal exclusive to Emirates is opened at Dubai International.

Emirates becomes first airline to order a $20 million Airbus full-flight simulator.

1991

On January 17, Emirates grounds its fleet for several hours as the battle to liberate Kuwait begins. Operations resume and Emirates maintains 90 per cent of its normal services during the first month of the conflict.

Emirates finally gets a slot at the busiest international hub in the world – London Heathrow.

Shortly after the arrival of another Airbus A300-600R, taking its fleet to nine, Emirates orders seven Boeing 777s, with an option for seven more, in a $64.5 million deal.

As the airline celebrates its sixth anniversary, 25,000 passengers a week are being flown to 23 destinations.

1990

Sheikh Ahmed signs up for three more Airbus A310-300s at the Asean Aerospace exhibition in Singapore.

Emirates bucks the industry trend and continues to expand despite the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and adds Manchester to its schedule.

1989

Flights are added to Singapore, Manila and Bangkok.

1988

Damascus is added to the Emirates route network, giving it a total 12 destinations in just 38 months of business.

1987

Deals are struck to fly into London’s Gatwick Airport, as well as Istanbul, Frankfurt and Male, the capital of the Maldives.

On July 3, A6-EKA flies from to Toulouse to Dubai as Emirates takes delivery of its first bought aircraft.

The Airbus A310-304 is designed to Emirates specifications, giving the airline the opportunity to fully implement its commitment to offering a superior flying experience than its rivals.

1986

The network grows with traffic rights acquired into Amman, Colombo, Cairo and Dhaka.

Investment in infrastructure and expansion costs see Emirates posting losses for what would be the only time in its history.